Reading

Comprehension
Skimming and
Scanning
 How can we improve our
reading?
Two important techniques include:

Skimming

Scanning
 SKIMMING
What is Skimming?
“To read quickly to get the
general idea of a passage”
 When
Skimming
Don’t read everything but try to skip the
text.

Read the first and last sentences of

paragraphs.

Read the introduction and the summary.

Read a few examples until you

understand the concepts they are meant
to illustrate.
 Not
stopping

First and
Last
paragraph

Getting
The
Gist
Topic
sentences

Read fast
 How to SKIM ?
Read the title.

Read the subtitle or introduction.

Read the first sentences of each

paragraph.

Notice any picture, charts, or

graphics.

Read the summary or last paragraph

if there is one.
 Let’s practice skimming using the questions
below.

Choose a heading that best matches the upcoming

paragraph. Remember to underline your key words.

• Parents are to blame for the state of children today.

• A report with many conclusions and worries about the
United Kingdom.
• Growing up unhappy generation
• There are so many social problems young people face today.
 Let’s skim the first and last sentences from the passage.

In recent years, evidence has been collected which suggests that the proportion
of British children and teenagers who are unhappy is higher than in many other
developed countries around the world. For example, a recently published report
set out to measure ‘ well-being’ among young people in nineteen European
countries, found that the United Kingdom came bottom. The report was based on
statistics and surveys in which young people answered questions on a wide range
of subject. The United Kingdom is a relatively unequal country with a relatively
high proportion of young people living in households. With less than half the
national average income. This seems to have a negative effect on how they feel
about themselves.
So what’s our answer?
Choose the heading that best matches the previous paragraph.
a. Parents are to blame for the state of children today
b. A report with many conclusions and worries about the United Kingdom
c. Growing up unhappy generation
d. There are so many social problems young people face today
 SCANNING
Search for specific information ( key words )

Particular Name Number

Telephone Number Program

Date The Cosine “32°”

 Scanning – Get only what you need.
• Scanning is rapidly running your eyes over the text in
order to locate specific details.
Three steps to scanning include:

Less reading
search for key move quickly
and more
words over the page
searching
 Let’s practice Scanning using
the question below.
• How many European countries are in first report?
Remember to underline your key words.

What is your key

word?
Number
 Now let’s scan for the info we selected.
In recent years, evidence has been collected which suggests that
the proportion of British children and teenagers who are
unhappy is higher than in many other developed countries
around the world. For example, a recently published report set
out to measure ‘ well-being’ among young people in nineteen
European countries, found that the United Kingdom came
bottom. The report was based on statistics and surveys in which
young people answered questions on a wide range of subject.
The United Kingdom is a relatively unequal country with a
relatively high proportion of young people living in
households. With less than half the national average income.
This seems to have a negative effect on how they feel about
themselves.
How many European countries are in the first report?
Nineteen
 Scanning Recipes
Chocolate Chip Fudgy Brownies
Ingredients Directions
• In a microwave, melt unsweetened chocolate and
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, butter; stir until smooth. In a large bowl, beat the
chopped eggs, sugar and vanilla for 1-2 minutes or until light
• 1 cup butter, cubed and lemon-colored. Beat in chocolate mixture. Add
• 4 eggs flour; beat just until combined. Fold in chocolate
• 2 cups sugar chips and pecans if desired.

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan.

Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
inserted near the center comes out with moist
• 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet crumbs. Cool on a wire rack.
chocolate chips
• Cut into bars. To serve, dust with confectioners'
• 1 cup chopped pecans, optional sugar or freeze. Brownies may be frozen for up to 6
• Confectioners' sugar months. Yield: 16-20 servings.
 Scan the recipe to answer the following questions

1. How much flour is used?

1 Cup
2. What do you need to melt?
Chocolate chips and butter
4. How long do you need to bake the brownies for?
25-30 minutes
5. You can freeze the brownies for up to a year. (T/F)
False. Six months
 More scanning activities

Turn to page 41 in your book.

1. Find the following words in the text. When you
are finished raise your hand.

Pregnancy, Obesity, Strokes,

Middle-Aged, Team, Vitally,
History
 Questions Cont.

2. What is the name of the university that

conducted the study?
3. How many mothers were surveyed?
4. Find a word that means “critically”.
5. Find a word that means “get better”
6. Find a word that is the opposite of “decrease”.
7. In the last sentence, what does the word
”process” refer to?
 So…………..

• to understand the
Skim general idea of a
passage

• for specific words,

Scan numbers, details or
answers.
 to determine
the
organization to get the
to know the of writing important part
opinions of that we need a
people whole and no
reading

OBJECTIVES
AND
BENEFITS
identify topics FOR
to refresh what
for reading SCANNING we've read
AND
SKIMMING
 As for the benefits, among others:

can search for a specific information needed from a text reading

1.
or books quickly and efficiently.

2. can explore the many pages of the book in a short time.

3. not too much of a waste of time looking for something

 Conclusion

 Skimming and scanning is used when reading all types of

documents.
We skim to get the idea of what a document is about and typically
skim all documents before we actually begin to read.
 As we skim, we…
 think about the topic
 think about what we already know about the topic
 start to guess or anticipate the details we are going to read
about.
 We scan for specific information
 We work quickly when we skim and scan.
Thank You